WARE (1250 AM) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting. WARE also operates an FM

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

in Springfield, W249DP (97.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

). The translator has its tower near

Palmer, Massachusetts Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. With a population was 12,448 at the 2020 census, Palmer is the least populous city in the Commonwealth. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

, and is powered at 250 watts. The station calls itself "The Valley's Classic Hits" referring to the Pioneer Valley of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

Translator

History

WARE first signed on the air in 1948, originally as WRMS.Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 170
/ref> It was owned by Donald W. Howe and was a daytimer. It transmitted with 1,000 watts and had to go off the air at sunset to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 1250. A year later, in 1949, it switched its call letters to WARE.

Unusual call letters

WARE is one of three stations in the United States where the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

spells out the name of the

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

. The other stations are WACO-FM in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, and

WISE-FM WISE-FM is a public radio station licensed to Wise, Virginia, serving Norton, Virginia, Norton, Coeburn, Virginia, Coeburn and Clintwood, Virginia, Clintwood in Virginia. WISE-FM is owned and operated by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U ...

in Wise, Virginia (a satellite of

WVTF WVTF (89.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Non-commercial educational station, non-commercial educational Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to serve Roanoke, Virginia, featuring a Public broadcasting, public radio format branded "Radio IQ". ...

References

External links

* * ARE Classic hits radio stations in the United States Mass media in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Massachusetts Ware, Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-radio-station-stub